As you may already know, A Page in the Sun, the venerable bookstore/café, has recently located to a new location, next door, thanks to a fortuitous alliance with local sculptor, Jim Demetro. I decided to pay them a visit to learn more about the alliance and check out the vastly improved new space.

I sat down to chat with Lindsey Leyva, who along with her sister, Gabriela Gómez, are partners in A Page in the Sun. The bookstore was originally founded by their mother and brother-in-law some 30 years ago. “My mother originally visited Puerto Vallarta around the 50s and fell in love with the destination,” comments Lindsey. “The rest is history.”

A Page in the Sun was originally located on Olas Altas St., where it started with an eclectic selection of softcover books and an espresso bar. After two decades on Olas Altas, the bookstore/cafe relocated to Lázaro Cárdenas park, where it continued for another nine years. Along the way, sisters Lindsey and Gabriela decided to contribute to the project with their own line of homemade bread and pastries.

The time came for Lindsey and Gabriela to find a new location sometime this past June. As the search for a suitable location began, the sisters felt increasingly frustrated with the inability to find what they were looking for. The answer came one month later, quite unexpectedly, from a next-door neighbor and frequent customer, Jim Demetro. “We were chatting with him and he told us ‘well, I don’t really need that much space’ so we began imagining the combined space.”

Once all wants and needs were considered, the artist asked to keep ⅓ of the space, with the rest devoted to A Page in the Sun. “The locale had to be conditioned,” adds Lindsey. “It was basically a large rectangle without partitions. Remodeling began during the month of August and continued until just last week. We opened this past Monday, and everybody has been thrilled with the way the new bookstore/gallery turned out.”

The new, third location for A Page in the Sun still features cozy areas to sit down and enjoy a nice cup of coffee while reading a book and chatting with friends. Now, however, it also has the complementary artsy feeling of having a constantly shifting art exhibition in the same space. The addition of a formal kitchen now allows for the preparation of baguettes and other light fare.

Renowned for his contributions to Puerto Vallarta’s Malecón sculpture collection, sculptor Jim Demetro shows works by a select group of artists in the gallery space, which also allows him to sell reproductions of some of his most iconic sculptures. He continues to collaborate with Gary Thompson of Galería Pacífico for Gary’s free Thursday Sculpture Tour. “Gary’s tour stops here and I present a brief explanation of my sculpture making process, from designing the piece to its casting,” he explains.

A Page in the Sun also schedules occasional book-signing events showcasing local authors, and live music. To learn about upcoming special events, please consider liking their Facebook page.